Beyond Eye Level | Photographing the Fortress in Snow

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Finally, we have the first snow of the year, but it didn't do any favor to us photographers by falling while we were sleeping. I've had many pleasurable moments of shooting while the snowflakes swirl in the midst of a blizzard. Their presence creates a thick layer in the air that adds depth to images. But if the snow has calmed and sitting on the ground it's still a good reason to go out for a walk.

Downtown streets are cleaned and thus not so interesting - the only way to make it more interesting is if I could photograph the rooftops that are covered in snow. It's easier said than done though, it's hard to find elevated spots to climb from where one can look down at the city.

I wished a few times today that I can levitate high above the buildings and take photos from those perspectives. Not that I like looking at people from above, but there's something beautiful about seeing the broad picture.

Most photos people make today are from eye level so when the photographer crouches down or gets up to a high viewpoint he somehow detaches from the scene and we get to see the subjects from third person point of view - as if they are a character from a book for example (no wonder a lot of book covers have designs similar to this).

Next best thing I can do is go to Kalemegdan where the snow covers the ground longer as there are no cars and traffic. Covered in white with subtle hints of cyan, orange and black it's a vast area to explore with a church, wooden bridges, parks and old fortresses. It took me few hours to walk around and I still managed to see only half of it. Photos are taken with Fuji X-Pro2 + 35mm F/2 lens.

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